Dreadful Summer
by TheAlmightyWordAlchemist
Summary: This was supposed to be the best summer ever; but, after Vlad's perfectly concocted plans to have Danny alone and all to himself, it soon because the worst summer possibly imagined. 'T' for extreme torture, whips, chains, blood.
1. Introduction

**This is my first fanfic so, "BEWARE!"**

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**Introduction: **

"But Mom!" Danny protested as he clinched his fists at his sides, crumpling up the letter in his hand. "I don't even know who this 'Aunt Annette' is!" This morning they had received a letter from a mysterious, long-lost Aunt Annette who was inviting Danny over to her house for two weeks to get to know each other. Danny had no idea who this woman was or how she was even related to him.

"Danny!" Maddie argued back, growing tired and irritated over repeating herself on this yet again—they had been arguing about it ever since he had opened the letter. "Aunt Annette is a lovely woman who is getting on in years. She hasn't seen you since you were a baby so the least you can do is just give two weeks of your life. What could be so important that you couldn't sacrifice just two weeks for your family?"

"Mom, what about gh—" he almost let himself slip 'ghost hunting' but quickly caught himself and changed it to, "Sam and Tucker? I can't leave them in the middle of summer break without notice! We had all sorts of plans!" In reality though, their only real plans had been to spend all that summer trying to catch as many ghosts as they could while watching a shameless amount of TV in between attacks. Since realizing that they would never have a normal summer again with all their ghost catching and Going Ghost, they decided to accept their fate and still try to make it the best summer ever regardless.

Maddie sat down the ghost ray she had been working on and looked Danny square in the eye. With a voice full of seriousness and sternness—the secret weapon of any mother who was wanting to get her way regarding something—she said, "Danny, I'm not going to say this again. You're going to your Aunt Annette's house. You'll have all the rest of summer break to hang out with your friends. Now, I don't want to hear another word about it." She then turned her back towards him and continued her work on the ghost ray.

Danny turned around in a huff and stormed up the stairs. As he made his way to his room he saw Jazz busily packing her bags in her own room. She had received an invitation for a two week seminar on some psychology thing in Washington DC and had been ecstatic ever since she heard. Danny wanted to complain to her about being dragged away for two weeks, but decided to complain to Sam and Tucker instead, not wanting to put any sort of damper of Jazz's excited mood. She had been getting better at her ghost hunting skills—meaning that she hadn't sent Danny into the Fenton Thermos in nearly a month—and deserved a reward.

"Wow, two weeks," Tucker sighed after Danny told his friends of the news during a conversance call between them.

"Yeah," Danny grunted. He threw himself on his bed and glared up at the ceiling as he continued, "Two weeks! Imagine what could happen in two weeks! Skulker could have the whole town as pelts or the Box Ghost could do something actually threatening—I don't know what, but he could!"

"Relax, Danny," Sam began. "Maybe your mom's right. It couldn't hurt to spend a little time away from all the ghost hunting and spend that time with family. Think of it as an actual vacation during summer vacation."

"But what about—" he started to protest.

"Don't worry about it," Sam interjected. "Me and Tuck can handle the whole ghost hunting thing for two weeks. You do it all year round, let us have a go!"

Danny ran his hand through his shaggy, dark hair and shook his head. "I don't know; I couldn't risk it." If anything happened to Sam, Tucker, his family, or even Amity Park while if he decided to step away from the ghost hunting even for the smallest while he could never forgive himself. How could he ever risk putting the things he cared about the most in danger? He couldn't do it.

"Sam's right," Tucker stated in his ever-upbeat tone, as if hoping to radiate some of his positivity on Danny. "We've been right there with you kicking ghost butts for how long? We can handle this! Go have some fun—or whatever fun you can have with your cranky, old aunt!"

After several more minutes of the monotonous exchange—'I can't go', 'You can!', 'Ghosting hunting all by yourselves', 'Trust us!', 'Then again, a break would be nice', 'Do it!' –Danny finally gave in. It wasn't really like he had much of a choice, considering how strongly his mother felt towards him going.

"Fine," he breathed, "I'll go."

"Alright!" Tucker exclaimed. "Time to show you what we really got!"

Danny snorted and with snarkiness dripping from his voice, "You've been holding back?"

"Shut up," Tucker retorted.

It was then after their goodbyes that they ended the phone call. Danny had only two hours to pack for a two week vacation. He had never meet Aunt Annette, hadn't cared enough to look at the return address to see where she lived, and had no idea how good her washing machine was. He was left in the dark about what and how much to pack.

After he got the necessities out of the way, he decided to pack a few ghost hunting materials in case anything was to come up whenever he got to wherever the hell he was going. He stuffed in the Fenton Thermos, the Fenton Ghost Catcher, and a few other odds and ends. Better to be safe than sorry.

Once he was all packed for his trip he snuck downstairs to watch some television before the taxi that Aunt Annette was sending came. He would have used that time to say goodbye to his parents, but after hearing the conversation they were having in the kitchen next door, he didn't want to.

"I wonder what happens if you kill a ghost?" Maddie pondered as she made loud clanking sounds from whatever ghost weapon she was working on.

"Do you think they would leave their form behind, or disappear completely?" Jack wondered out loud in response to her thought.

Whenever they talked like this Danny couldn't help but to picture himself in all their crazy torturing scenarios. Knots formed in his stomach as he thought about the conversation he and Jazz had had just the week before. She was trying to push him to tell his parents about his ghost half, trying to convince him that they would love him no matter what; but Danny couldn't take those chances. What if they reacted wrong and decided to make him their next experiment? No, as long as he got his way, he would die before ever letting his ghost hunting parents know his secret.

His parents continued to fantasize on the many endless possibilities of killing a ghost. They went on to such a point where Danny just decided to wait outside instead of listening to their terrible ideas and plans. He would have gone up and talked to Jazz but then he realized that it was past her departure time and she was no doubt already gone.

With a sigh, he flipped out his phone and called Sam. He still had a couple minutes to waste, why not spend them with her?

Right as she picked up she immediately started talking. "Danny, just relax, alright? Me and Tucker have got this. If we get into anything too deep or that we can't handle we'll call you. Try putting some faith in us like we have faith in you."

Danny smiled. Sam was pushy but always knew what to say and was always there no matter what. What was he worried about anyway? With an ally like Sam he had nothing to worry about.

"You're right," he said as he examined up and down the street for the taxi that was supposed to be arriving shortly. "I really do need to trust you two more, you've done more than earned it. Just remember and promise me that you'll call me if it becomes too much."

"I promise," Sam replied.

Just then Danny saw a yellow taxi cab turn a corner and make its way down the street towards his house. After one last goodbye he hung up the phone and readied his luggage.

Suddenly, a white gasp of breath escaped from his lips and his ghost senses went on high alert.

"_Really?_" he muttered bitterly while looking around. "_Now?_ Just when I was starting to think I might be able to get away from ghosts for a couple weeks!"

He was about ready to Go Ghost when suddenly he saw the blue, overall-clad ghost flying overhead with an armful of damp, lumpy cardboard boxes. "BEWARE!" he screamed.

Danny relaxed. It was only the Box Ghost. There was no sense of Going Ghost and delaying his plans all for him. Sam and Tucker could handle him with their eyes closed.

With a sigh, he took back up his bags and waited for his journey to begin. The taxi stopped right in front of him and the trunk flew open. He put his suitcases in that dark, musty cavity then slide into the backseat.

For a moment, he just sat there awkwardly looking at the back of the taxi's drivers head. He was a short man, noticeably bald even with a blue ball cap trying to cover up this obvious fact. Danny had never really ridden in a taxi before so after a moment of silence he cleared his throat then hesitantly announced, "Um, to Aunt Annette's please."

The cab driver just sat there, unmoving and totally silent.

Danny looked around then spoke up a little louder in case he had not heard him. "Aunt Annette sent you, right? Can you please take me to her?"

The cab driver remained motionless for a moment then suddenly, with the speed of a cheetah, pushed a red button on the dash of the cab. Cables covered in material that was able to bind ghosts sprung up from the cervices of the seat and pinned Danny with inescapable strength. The windows were suddenly covered with a metal barrier and the opening between the driver's and passenger's areas was barred by a metal wire cage.

"What the—" Danny began as he looked around.

"Why, hello there, young Daniel," said an all too familiar voice as the stubby cab driver turned around and flashed his devilish red eyes.

"Plasmius!" Danny spat.


	2. And so it Begins

**Oh, la, la! I actually got reviews! Oh, how it does make my little, dreadful heart bloom! Anyways, here is the second installment, my lovelies.**

**2. And so it Begins...**

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The cab driver remained motionless for a moment then suddenly, with the speed of a cheetah, pushed a red button on the dash of the cab. Cables covered in material that was able to bind ghosts sprung up from the cervices of the seat and pinned Danny with inescapable strength. The windows were suddenly covered with a metal barrier and the opening between the driver's and passenger's areas was barred by a metal wire cage.

"What the—" Danny began as he looked around.

"Why, hello there, young Daniel," said an all too familiar voice as the stubby cab driver turned around and flashed his devilish red eyes.

"Plasmius!" Danny spat. Hatred grew within him at the sight of that menacing, old, bitter ghost. He looked down at the cables that bond him and tried to phase through. It was pointless. Those Anti-Ghost materials around the cables bond him where he sat and restrained his use of his ghost powers. He was going to have to think fast to get out of this one. "What's wrong?" he started in. "Widdle Maddie doesn't want to cuddle anymore so you need someone else to love you?" Bringing up his cat was always a sure-fired way to piss Vlad off.

Vlad narrowed his eyes and use them to bore into Danny. He let out an exasperated sigh and with his cool, smooth, poison-laced tongue he began, "Listen to me, boy. We don't have much time and this was the only way I could get you to listen to me."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I'm sure," he said sarcastically. "Don't have much time before you grow old and alone—oh wait, it's already happened!"

"Silence, Daniel, I'm trying to help you here."

"I think _you're_ the one that needs help!"

Vlad put his fingers on his temple and took a long, deep breath. "I'm going to try this one more time, boy, and if you interrupt me again we'll just see how you like being ripped apart by the Guys in White."

This caught Danny's attention. He really hadn't seen the Guys in White for a while. He had just hoped that maybe they had gotten bored of hunting him or perhaps even their government funding got pulled. Either way, he had put them on the backburner of his priority list. However, considering who they were and what they were capable of, not seeing or hearing from them was perhaps worse than actually seeing them. Had they really just left and gone away? Or had they been gone preparing something? If this was the case, Danny decided it would be best to listen to whatever Vlad had to say then decide if it was bullshit or not.

"Well, go on then," Danny demanded, not sacrificing his snarkiness with his interest to know.

He took another sigh then Vlad once again started his monologue with that cool, slightly over the top voice. "It seems you and I are faced with a new and potentially dangerous predicament, young Daniel. Through some unknown source or means, the Guys in White have heard word that Vlad Plasmius and Danny Phantom are half ghosts. This has peeked their curiosities and we are now currently at the top of their to-do list."

"What's your point?" Danny asked, not unshaken considering he was already on the top of many others' to-do lists.

"My point is, Daniel," Vlad's voice was becoming more and more strained with annoyance. This pleased Danny. "Is that these enemies are not just simply ghosts we can through back into the Ghost Zone. These are human ghost hunters—_real_ ghost hunters I might add, not whatever it is your parents consider themselves. They cannot only do damage to our ghost halves but our human halves as well; which poses a problem for me considering my status as Mayor of Amity Park."

"Alright," Danny acknowledged, realizing fully well that these ghost hunters could definitely make his life more complicated than any Young Blood or Box Ghost could. He still didn't realize what Vlad necessarily wanted him with though. Why not ditch him and let the Guys in White's focus be all about him while Vlad kicked on out of here while he could? That would have definitely been more like Vlad as opposed to warning him about said danger. "So what does this have to do with me," he asked after a moment's silence and gesturing towards the restraints that still bond him.

Vlad rubbed his forehead again, as if the answer was blatantly obvious. "What you and your pathetic, narrowly focused, adolescent mind does not comprehend, young Daniel, is that you and I are from the same rare, unique brand of cloth. Say, if they were to get you, find out what makes you tick and enviably find out how to destroy you, they would find out the same for me as well. Self-perseveration, young Danny. Pure and simple."

There it was. Vlad wouldn't have told him of the oncoming danger if there wasn't some sort of gain he could make from it.

"So now what?" Danny asked, his lack of protest being the unspoken acknowledgment and agreement over this shared emanate danger. "Do we know when the Guys in White are coming?"

"That's the problem," Vlad exhaled. "They've been out of touch recently and it's hard to judge when and how hard they'll strike. I have a hunting lodge up in the mountains that can act as some sort of safe house so we can decide our next best move. It is better if we withdraw ourselves and be sure collaborate our efforts on this—this one and only time—so that we might terminate it before it becomes a real problem."

Danny arched an eyebrow and looked at him. Was he seriously suggesting that they work together on this? What if this was some sort of trap? After all, Vlad _did_ have him strapped to the back of a seat. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Danny challenged. "How do we know the Guys in White aren't really just gone? How do I know this isn't some trap of your's so you can try to get my mom and dad?"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Because that idiot Johnny 13 and Kitty were having some sort of domestic dispute last night. In the process of their little argument his Shadow found its way into one of their labs and heard them talking. Due to the fact that Johnny 13 owed me a favor, once he got word of this he came and told me."

"What kind of favor was that?" Danny asked, having no idea what kind of thing Vlad could have done for Johnny 13 to have owed him.

"That's irrelevant," Vlad answered, trying to keep them on subject. "After I made sure he was telling the truth I decided that it would be within my best interests to make sure all half-ghosts were out of the picture when they came. Last thing I need for my rise to power is those goofs to figure out how to make waste of me."

Danny didn't like this. He hated the thought of trusting Vlad and he hated the idea of being alone with him in some cabin off in WhoKnowsWhereVille. However, Vlad did have an unfortunately true point. If one of them were to get captured by the Guys in White and they found out how to kill them, that would mean the end of both of them. For this challenge, they were going to have to work together, as much as he hated to admit it to himself.

"Fine," Danny began, hating himself for even having to agree with Vlad on something, "but if we're going to do this we're going to do this together, so get these restraints off me!"

Vlad smiled cruelly. "They were just for show, really," he said as he pushed the red button again to release him. "I'm glad to see you were able to see reason. Perhaps there's hope for you after all, young Daniel."

Danny glared at him as he flexed his arms in the relief of freedom. He hated being restrained; however, not nearly as much as he hated Vlad.

"First things first," Vlad said as he held up a finger. He phased out of the cabdriver he had been possessing and sat next to him in the passenger's seat. Vlad flashed his devilish, glowing red eyes and venomous smile at the dazed and confused cabdriver. The driver reeled back in shock, mouth open in a silent scream.

"Leave us," Vlad ordered simply.

The cabdriver didn't have to be told twice. He groped blindly, eyes never leaving the sight of the evil looking ghost, as he searched for the handle to the door. When he finally found it he fell out backwards onto the street. Vlad slid over to the driver's side and shut the door.

As Vlad turned over the car's engine and took off down the road a thought then struck Danny right in the head.

"There was no letter from Aunt Annette, was there?" Danny asked as he rubbed his arms as they were still stiff from the restraints.

Vlad smiled wickedly. "No. I remembered your mother complaining endless one night about her crazed Aunt Annette while we were all in college. I figured having a believable excuse for an absence would not cause any disturbance in your private life while we took care of this matter."

"Why two weeks?" Danny asked.

Vlad shrugged. "No reason. I gave us some breathing room in case it took us longer than normal to take care of something."

With a sigh Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He decided that to tell Sam and Tucker what really was going on so that they could have a pair of eyes and ears in Amity Park for the Guys in White. In reality though, he wanted to explain to them what was going on so that they wouldn't worry. They weren't going to like him being alone with Vlad, but this was a sticky situation that they had never faced before. Since they were facing a common enemy this time, Danny decided to give him a temporary benefit of the doubt regarding his momentary trust.

"What are you doing?" Vlad demanded as his head flashed around once he noticed what Danny was doing.

"Calling Sam and Tucker," Danny explained as he flipped it open. "It would be helpful to have some eyes and ears in Amity Park."

"Hung up that thing and throw it out the window!" Vlad yelled. "They no doubt know that Danny Fenton knows Danny Phantom. They could have easily tapped your cellphone to see if you knew anything about where Danny Phantom was! Destroy it! Now!"

Danny looked at him confused. It was slowly becoming evident just how seriously Vlad was taking this threat. Did he know something that he wasn't telling about the Guys in White? "Just let me call Sam and Tucker to tell them where I'm going!" Danny fought back, hoping that would antagonize Vlad into revealing some hidden information that he had kept from him.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Vlad demanded as he made the car intangible as to not hit the stop sign they were approaching at a dangerously fast speed. "The Guys in White have probably tapped your phone! If you told your little friends about where you were really going that might give those Guys in White a clue as to where Danny Phantom would be! And, in doing so, where I would be! Now, throw that phone out the window or I will tie you up, pin you with a bow, and present you to the Guys in White myself."

With a sigh and the bitter pain of defeat, Danny rolled down his window and tossed his beloved cellphone out the window. He was slightly disappointed at the loss of that phone. Sam had spent an entire day secretly constructing a sticker for it to match the emblem on his ghost suit as a surprise one day. Whenever he saw that emblem he always thought of her and how much time she had put in it to make it just right.

They had been driving for nearly an hour through the twists and the turns of the unpredictable roads within those dense, dark, haunting forests. It was almost an hour before the sun would start going down. Danny still had no real idea as to where they were actually going on this little trip of theirs. Vlad had refused to give him any information as to where his secret safe house was located. The harder Danny pushed, the more Vlad refused. Eventually, Danny had given up on learning where they were going and just stared out the window at the passing trees. They sat in tense silence, each too stubborn to actually talk about the oncoming threat or to work on any battle plans for themselves.

"Are we there yet," Danny whined, trying to get a rise out of Vlad.

"Given the fact that I am still driving—no, Daniel, we are not there!"

Danny smirked at the display of annoyance and made himself comfortable in his seat. As they drove on he let his mind wander on what he, Sam, and Tucker could possibly do to make up for the time lost during this event for their summer vacation plan. Of course, when he first got back he would have to take care of any ghost messes that were still going on, but after that they would definitely have to go out and try to enjoy themselves for once. Perhaps going to the water park or movie theater—other than the one in Sam's basement—would be a nice way to actually relax.

Danny had been so caught up in his thoughts that he was completely taken off guard when Vlad suddenly hit the brakes and turned the car around so fast it leaned on one side.

"What's going on?" Danny shot up after the car stabled from doing the dangerous 180 turn. He flashed his head around to see a large white tank-like van blocking their way.

"Damn it!" Vlad cursed as he laid down the gas petal completely and took off in the opposite direction of the van. "They must have found out we were coming," he spat.

"Who?" Danny demanded as he saw two armed figures climbed into the large van and began their chase towards them.

"The Guys in White, Danny!" Vlad yelled. "Please try to refrain from being so dense!"

Danny rolled down his window again and was ready to Go Ghost so he could kick their asses when Vlad stopped him.

"Cool it, Daniel!" he roared as he changed back into Vlad Masters. "Plausible deniability. If we are not able to out run them in this piece of shit we can just merely tell them that we are two normal humans out going on a hunting trip. They might just be stupid enough to believe it. If not, then we kick their asses."

However, as many already know, cabs aren't known for driving at fast speeds. They're just simply not what they were designed for. Right as the bulky white van was approaching far too closely to their cab, another white van suddenly pulled out onto the roads having been hidden by the looming trees.

It all happened so fast, quicker than even they, the half-ghosts, could react. The cab crashed into the new monstrous van and welded itself into one massive wreckage at the force of the impact. Danny's head slammed into the back of the passenger seat and was thrown into the air, only to fly and slam back into the seat to where he had been sitting previously.

Confusion overtook the young half-ghost and his ears rung at a deafeningly high pitch as the world swirled around him. He tried to get up and figure out what was going on but dizziness and nausea overtook him. He collapsed down onto the glass covered back seat and stared up at the crushed ceiling, trying to regain his focus.

_"Get them!"_

He heard a voice yell.

_"Don't let 'em escape!"_

Another voice retorted.

Danny felt the need to run. To escape. But was found unable to as the world started to fade away from his grasps. The last thing he remembered was looking up towards the front seat and seeing a sickly splatter of greenish-red blood. Consciousness escaped him as he dared to wonder if the blood was from himself or from Vlad.

_"Those freaks are ours now!"_


	3. This So-Called Journey

**Thank you for the reviews! Please continue to tell me your thoughts! They are very much so appreciated!**

**3. This So-Called Journey **

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_"Are you sure that'll work keeping him down?"_

Beep. Beep. Beep. An obnoxious repetitive rung through his ears, slowly increasing in speed with every new 'beep'.

_ "Yes! It worked with the other one!"_

Cold. There was a solid, hard, unidentifiable coldness pressing itself on his back.

_"Is he awake yet?"_

Tight, uncomfortable things were keeping hold of his wrists and ankles. He couldn't figure out what they were without opening his eyes; however, something deep inside himself told him he didn't want to do that.

Slowly but surely, with every 'beep' that seemed so distant yet so close, memories—unusual and strange memories—started to seep their way back into Danny's mind. The two week trip…Vlad possessing the cabdriver…the journey to the safe house…the Guys in White…and the epic crash…. All the memories were slowly taking form to try to make sense of what was going on.

Soon, without even opening his eyes, Danny was able to piece together where he no doubt was. _The Guys in White. _Sickening terror flooded through him as he carefully opened his eyes. A blinding light raced to his dreary pupils, as if wanting to save him from the horror that lay before him. A few blinks and he was able to make out the wrecked scene before him.

_No!_

A large, bright, round light hung over him—a type of light that was found in hospitals during a surgery. Various machines were stationed around him. He had no idea what their function could possibly be or what relation they had to him. One showed his every increasing heartbeat, others seemed to show some sort of levels for something, while others just appeared to be solely consistent of annoyingly flashing lights. Two large men, each wearing a spotless white suit with a simple black tie, were bustling about over a tray of various sizes of scalpels and other unsavory sharp objects. His eyes lastly wondered to the cold medical table he was strapped down to with Anti-Ghost material.

_Anything but this!_

Horror and the purest form of terror seized him as he realized the horrible entirety of the situation that was revealing itself before him.

_Dear god! Please, no!_

A part of Danny wanted to phase back into his human form; but even if the Anti-Ghost material hadn't preventing him from doing so, it would be pointless. _The Guys in White have heard word that Vlad Plasmius and Danny Phantom are half ghosts. This has peeked their curiosities and we are now currently at the top of their to-do list_, Vlad's words run through his head. The Guys in White had no doubt seen his human form while taking him away from the wreckage—even though, and he wasn't entirely sure if it actually did or not, right before he passed out he remembered wanting to phase into his ghost half for protection. If he really did or not was currently a complete mystery to him. Either way, it still would be pointless. The Guys in White wouldn't care if he was Danny Phantom or Danny Fenton as long as they believed that either one of them had information they wanted.

A thought suddenly struck Danny. _Vlad. _He looked around but it appeared that he was the only one strapped to a table in that room. Where was Vlad? Had the Guys in White already taken care of him and now they were going to end Danny as well? In reality though, as much as he hated to admit it, Vlad was a stronger ghost than Danny. If they really wanted to end both of them they would try their theories out first on him, the weaker one who would be more likely to be able to control, and then go for the stronger one, who would be the one to put up the most vicious of a fight.

That was, of course, if Vlad even survived the crash at all….

A cold shiver ran down Danny's back as he took a gulp. Panic coursed through him. His biggest nightmare was coming to life right before his eyes. He had to get out of here!

He struggled against the restraints but to no avail. The Guys in White had obviously spent their time making sure that their Anti-Ghost materials were crafted to refinement in preparation for the big capture.

His struggling had alerted the Guys in White of his now conscious state.

"Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake," taunted O as he slowly stalked towards him. He slapped a scalpel mockingly in his hands as he had often seen Dash do with a baseball bat showing off the dangerous threat that lay in his hands far too many times.

Danny took a breath, trying to make his knees stop from shaking. He couldn't reveal how truly terrified he was. He had to regain some sort of control. "Hey, Guys, it's been a long time. And you went through all this trouble just to see me; I'm touched. But, see, I can't really give you Guys the hugs you deserve, so might as well take these restraints off me."

K snorted as he loomed towards Danny with a needle filled with an unusual, red substance in his hand. "Don't even start, Phantom. There's no way for you to escape or talk yourself out of this one. It's best to just shut up now while you still have the option to."

"And miss telling you Guys how much I love you!" Danny exclaimed, hoping that his voice was sounding braver than he felt. "Never!"

"Have it your way then," O said he set down the scalpel and picked up a leather strap. K grabbed a handful of his hair and held his head up while O put the strap around his mouth, preventing him from making any sort of intelligent sound.

Another wave of panic raced through Danny as he saw O then take up a pair of scissors and began cutting away at his suit. He felt helplessly exposed as he cut away his only protection from the world.

"Alright, Phantom," K spat as he forcefully tightened Danny's restraints, the Anti-Ghost material cutting into his wrists and ectoplasm being to drip because of it. "We know you're half ghost; but you transformed into your ghost half before we could see your human half from the crash."

"Maybe if you tell us who you are we will take it easier on you," O added as he tightened the other restraint just as forcefully.

Danny shook his head. He wasn't going to make it that easy on them. No matter what they did to him he was never going to tell them his secret. To do so put his entire family and his friends at risk. Who knows where the Guys in White's boundaries lay and what they would do to them for additional information!

Without warning O jabbed a needle into his arm and starting taking ectoplasm.

"Samples," O said as he smiled wickedly.

Their took 'samples' for nearly two hours. Such samples included everything from hair to more ectoplasm to even a piece of his lungs by ramming a painful tube down his throat to retrieve some of his previous ghostly organs.

It was only going to get worse and Danny knew it. They didn't just want 'samples'. They wanted information. They wanted to understand what he was. But most importantly, they wanted to know how to destroy him. Because, after all, how do you kill something that's supposedly already dead?

Danny tried to gain composure as they left to go take the samples to some other room. _I can do this_, he thought to himself as he tried to fight against the Anti-Ghost material and make himself intangible. But it was useless. This Anti-Ghost material was too powerful for him. It was so powerful that it was even daresay draining him. He wasn't sure if it was due to the Anti-Ghost material or his complete inability to have control over his emotions and mind at this moment, but he was unable to even shoot a ghost ray from his hands.

He jumped when he heard the Guys in White enter back into the room.

"Well, now that we've got that out of the way," K smiled cruelly as he wheeled a new tray of scalpels and saws next to the examination table Danny was strapped to. "Now the real fun can begin."

As K picked up a scalpel and waved it over Danny's bare chest he shut his eyes and prayed a silent prayer that Vlad was still alive. Right now, he was the only chance of Danny getting out of here in one piece. Like he had pointed out in the cab, if they got one of them then they could learn how to destroy both of them. Each of their lives depended on the other living through such means. If Vlad was still alive and able to break free before Danny did, he was his only hope.

_"Please_," Danny whispered, both to the Guys in White and to the absent Vlad.

But the Guys in White either ignored him or didn't even hear him at all. Not like it would have made a difference anyways.

He let out a scream as he opened his eyes and saw K making a long incision done his midsection with a smile.

"Let's see what makes you tick," he announced with a menacing chuckle.

Painful and tortured screams filled the airways. His cries and pleads were the only thing that could be heard throughout the entire building—the man knew because he had tried every room as a way to escape them. He knew, just from the sounds of the screams, that the vivisection had begun.

_He deserves this_, said the dark one evilly. _He's gotten everything handed to him while you've struggled since day one. Everyone will benefit from this in the end!_

_No one deserves this!_ protested the light one. _Go in there and stop this! Stop it before any more damage is done!_

The man looked down at his tea, filled with sorrow and hatred—towards himself and towards the one doing the screaming. He took a deep breath, trying to take in the savory aroma of the herbal tea, but it was no good. Nothing could ease him from the guilt and horror over what was going on in just a few rooms over.

"I did this," he whispered painfully as he sat down his tea and buried his face into his hands.

_Of course you did!_ roared the dark one. _Now stick to the plan I told you! Everything will be yours by the time this is done!_

_Yes,_ objected the light one, _but at what cost? Is what you want really worth all this? There has to be another way!_

_There is no other way! _the dark one screamed.

The man rubbed his temples and tried to grasp a hold of reality; however, those tortured screams prevented this from really happening. The dark one and light one continued to yell and argue with each other. The man honestly had no idea which voice was his own anyone. His had been lost somewhere between the two long ago.

"I can't do this!" Vlad exclaimed as he stood up and threw his hands in the arm in defeat.

_If you really love him like you say you do,_ began Masters, the light one, _then end this!_

_And if you really love _her_ like you say you do_, retorted Plasmuis, the dark one, _then you'll let this continue._

"I love them both," Vlad cried out in vanquish as he collapsed so his knees.

_Then do what I say,_ loomed the dark one, Plasmuis, _and both will be saved. _

And Masters, the light one, saying as if turning his back and muttering without any hope or faith in Vlad muttered, _and loose what's left of yourself in the process._


	4. As We See Through the Lies

**A bit longer than the previous chapters, but that just means there's more to it! Thank you for the reviews! Please, keep them coming!**

**4. As We See Through the Lies**

* * *

Maddie hugged her plush, teal robe close to her chest as she quickly slid outside to grab the mail. As she slipped back in she let her robe hang freely open as she looked through the variously sized envelopes. Up at the top was one from Jazz in Washington DC. Maddie was sure to set that one aside so she could read it while eating her breakfast, a smile forming upon her at the thought of her daughter.

The house had been so quiet and lonely without her two beloved children around. Sure, they each had their own lives and it wasn't like they were home all the time anyways, and, yes, she still had Jack around, but it just wasn't the same knowing that her children weren't in their beds every night. That had always been such a comfort to her. Often at night, right before she went to bed, she would stop by each of her children's bedrooms just to watch them sleep for a while. It broke her heart to think that one day it would always be like this, just her and Jack alone in the house after Jazz and Danny left the house to go start lives of their own. Of course, she prayed for them the best in life, but she also wished there was some way just to have them with her in her house forever.

A thought then struck her.

If, someday, they were to become like the very ghosts she and Jack had dedicated their lives to studying and hunting, would they all still be together—a family in even the afterlife? A family even as ghosts?

She hoped with all her heart that that would be so.

She sat down at the table and sipped the coffee she had previously prepared before stepping out to get the mail. Jack was still trying to wake up and taking a shower so she had a few moments to herself before she had to start the day. These were treasured moments. She loved having people around her, but sometimes she just needed a moment to herself.

As she continued going through the seemingly endless amount of mail, a fancy, golden envelope stuck out at her. She looked it over before opening up the shiny exterior and taking out the glided, elegant paper within. The letter went on to tell her that she had won a prize for a free all-day spa retreat in the fancy spa in the town over.

Excitement rushed through her.

"Oh my!" Maddie exclaimed as she looked over the letter again like a child on Christmas. She didn't even remember entering a contest. However, she always did have a secret love of going to the spa. She hadn't gone since her and Jack got married. He always thought they were a waste of money that could be used on constructing ghost weaponry. 'We have a tub upstairs!' he would always protest whenever Maddie would bring up the idea of going to one. He just didn't grasp the idea of what it meant to be pampered every once in a while. However, since this one was free, there was no way she could not go! It would be an excellent way to get her mind off her absent children.

She leaned back as she took another sip of her coffee and smiled. Yes, today was going to be a good day. She was determined of that.

* * *

_Wuh-PSSSSH!_

Pain.

_Crack!_

That was all he knew.

_Wuh-PSSSSH!_

Pain and torment.

_Crack!_

Did he ever have a life before this?

_Wuh-PSSSSH!_

If so, it had been washed away with all else they had stolen from him.

_Crack!_

Those…

_Wuh-PSSSSH!_

Those people…

_Crack!_

Those monsters!

"Are you enjoying this, Phantom?" K laughed out as he continued to slap the whip on Danny's bare back. Those wretched, leathery tentacles wrapping all the way around his chest with every crack of the whip.

"Please!" Danny wheezed out, the sound lost amongst the cracking and whishing of the whip. His voice had gone hoarse long ago from all his screams and pleas for mercy.

They had since moved him from the cold, ectoplasm-covered examination table and now he was hanging from the ceiling, bound by his wrists and anchored to the floor by his ankles, by chains that were also treated with the Anti-Ghost substance. Not like it matter that it had been coated with that cursed material. He had no energy to walk or stand, let along go intangible and fly away to glorious yet fabled freedom. It had been three straight days of the pure and endless torture. Whenever K and O decided that they needed a break two other white suited men would take their places. Danny referred to them as F and U.

"Had enough yet?" O yelled as he rammed a foot into Danny's fragile, aching, tortured-ridden back.

Danny let out a yelp as the boot made contact with his skin, already broken, torn, and marred by the relentless whipping and ruthless amounts of experimentation they had done on him.

He had remained strong. _If I'm going to die,_ he had decided during the first day of this hellish nightmare, _then I'm going to die knowing that I did everything I could to protect the ones I love._

They had taken so many things from his body…injected so many things to determine how his halfling body would react…it felt as if there was nothing left for them to do to him. However, every time this thought popped into his head they would think of something new to do to him.

_Why_, he asked them, what seemed like an eternity ago when the experimentation and torture really started to begin. _What did I do to deserve this?_

_You're too dangerous and powerful to be left alive,_ K—or maybe it had been O—explained. _We're doing this for the benefit of the world._

"Move him back to the table," F suddenly announced as he poked his head through the metal door. F had seemed to be of higher rank than the other three. Whatever he said went without question. "I want you two to go get _him_. It's a last resort…but, he might be able to make him talk. I want to know everything about this _thing_ before we finally do kill it."

_"Just kill me now!" _Danny pleaded with what little voice he had as K and O unlatched him from the chains and transported him to the table.

"If only you were so lucky!" O laughed.

As K and O drug him back to the table a new rush of adrenaline and panic coursed through his damaged and bruised body as he saw it slowly come more into view. He tried to fight, as little as though he could, and did his best to scream out for help. It was useless. There was no way he could escape them and there was no one who was coming to help him. He knew this. But he had to try. They weren't going to break him…not completely, anyways.

* * *

_"Vlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!"_

Those screams. That scream. That poor boy screaming his name. For him. He had the ability to stop all this and he knew it. But he couldn't. Not yet. He knew the boy would never understand, but he had to save him. He had to show him the truth.

He could hear two of those idiots, K and O, leaving the building. Now was the time for the next step in the plan.

As much as he was ashamed of himself, he couldn't help but to be impressed at the same time. He had been able to work and manipulate multiple parties to do his will, all without them putting together the pieces of the puzzle that led to him.

_He_ had been the one who anonymously told the Guys in White that Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmuis were half-ghosts.

_He_ had been the one that had put the mysterious girl's brazier amongst Johnny 13's things that caused him and Kitty's dispute.

_He _had been the one that had oh-so-graciously lured out Johnny 13's Shadow to overhear the Guys in White's plans.

_He _had been the one that had written the letter that caused Danny to be able to go missing for two weeks without having any contact with his parents and it not draw suspicion.

_He_ had been the one that duplicated himself and then use that duplicate to overshadow the cabdriver.

_He _had been the one who called the Guys in White, as Vlad Masters, and told them he had been taken hostage by Danny Phantom. He also told them the route he was taking and how they could intercede them to catch the Phantom child.

_He_ had been the one who made his duplicate turn into Vlad Plasmuis right before the crash.

_He _had been the one that allowed his duplicate to die as Plasmuis so that the Guys in White could believe Plasmuis was dead.

_He _had been the one who had spent days being invisible and intangible in the Guys in White's headquarters listening to them torture the boy he loved as a son.

_He _had been the one who was making sure they wouldn't damage him to the point of death.

_He_ had been the one who sent Maddie that day-spa retreat certificate, making her believe she had won it in some contest. He remembered how much she secretly used to love those in college.

And _he _was the one who was about to take the next unfortunate and wretched step in this plan.

He hated to do it. But he had to. This was the only way to save the ones he loved.

_Ignorance is their bliss_, Plasmuis, the dark one, whispered into his ear.

_Do we really have to do this? Do we really have to do it _thisway_?_ Masters, the light one, whispered into his other ear.

"It's the only way," Vlad whispered, defeated.

After a deep and painful sigh, he duplicated himself so that someone might be there to keep a watchful eye out for his Danny. After splitting himself, a wave of self-hatred and disgust swept through him as not even his duplicate could look him in the eye.

"The feeling's mutal," Vlad muttered sadly.

With that, Vlad lifted himself up into the air and raced the Guys in White to their destination. With the use of their private jet, they would be able to make the trip in a fourth of the time it would take by use of some other means like a car. This speed, however, was no match for Vlad's.

Soon that ugly, clunky building came into view.

Fenton Works.

Vlad knew that _he_ would be the only one home. The monster. The tormentor. The wrecker of lives.

After going intangible and invisible, Vlad found _him_ sitting at the table fiddling with one of this stupid ghost beams. He was muttering to himself, complaining about the absence of his wife which meant he had to do this work by himself.

"Poor baby," Vlad whispered bitterly, low enough so that the buffoon could not possibly hear him.

Anger and hatred dripped from Vlad as he looked down at the orange-clad man. How easily it would be to end him right then and there. He was so defenseless, so naïve to the danger that lurked right behind him. So easy it would be to destroy the man that first destroyed him.

_Wait_, Plasmuis, the dark one, rebuked inside his head. _Remember what I told you. Stick to the plan. It will be the best way to destroy him and finally get back what he stole from you._

_No!_ Masters, the light one, retorted. _Vlad, you're ill. Go, get some help! Stop this while you still can! Don't forget who you are!_

"I'm no one because of him!" Vlad hissed, a note even breaking his low tone and causing the terrible man before him to turn his head and listen for the source of the sound.

_You're a rich and powerful man who has limitless ghost powers at his fingertips, _said Masters, the light one. _You're anyone but no one._

_No!_ Plasmuis, the dark one, fought back. _Don't listen to him! What are you without the woman and son that you love! Do it for them! Do it for your family! _Yours!_ Not his!_

A knock at the door silenced the argument going on inside his head, also causing himself and the buffoon in front of him to turn their heads towards the living room.

"Who's that?" Jack asked out loud as he made his way towards the door.

"I guess you won't know until you answer the door, now will you? Dumbass." Vlad muttered, again letting a note escape that caused Jack to turn his head for the source of the mysterious noise. However, his search was all but forgotten when the sound of knocking once again made itself known from the door.

He could hear the surprise in Jack's voice when he saw that it was the Guys in White standing before his doorway. "What are you Guys doing here?"

"We, unfortunately, need the help of your ghost…_expertise_…Jack," O admitted, pride obviously damaged at the fact that they needed someone like Jack to help them.

"We've discovered a ghost-human hybrid and we need your help studying and understanding it," K continued after O's defeat of pride left him at a loose for words.

"Really?" Jack exclaimed, cruel excitement poisoning his voice. "Cool! Of course I'll help you! Where is it?"

"Back at Headquarters," K answered. "You'll have to take our jet in order to get there."

"Alright!" Jack exclaimed as he slapped each of their backs in a congratulatory fashion and then turned around to lock up the house. "Maddie's gone today anyways!" He then, nearly skipping with excitement, followed them back to their black van which took them to their jet.

Vlad was able to once again beat the jet to its destination. Once he got back he converged with his duplicate and waited for the group of idiots to arrive. It didn't take too long.

They never saw him as they walked right past him. How could they though? He was completely invisible to them. He followed them into the room where they were keeping Danny. Vlad had avoided coming into this room as much as possible while he had been watching over him. He hated to see his son so weak and damaged.

Danny Phantom lay passed out on the cold, ectoplasm-covered examination table. F and U stood over his broken, defenseless body with cruel satisfaction with themselves over the poor ghost boy's weakened state.

"He won't tell us who his human half is," O explained to Jack as they all approached the unconscious body.

"Or how he came to be in this state," added U.

"I've assumed you've taken all the necessary samples for scientific study," Jack said as he closely examined the marred body. Disgusting curiosity taking over his face.

"And then some," F confirmed with a cruel smile.

"We've been forced to take some unfortunate measures into trying to make him talk," K said as he gestured towards the whips, chains, saws, and other various torture devices they had used.

"I hope you're not uncomfortable with that," F looked at Jack with a frowning brow.

Jack smiled and asked whimsically, "Why would I be? He's just a ghost! Half human or not. Ghost is a ghost. Who cares?"

Vlad had too keep himself from vomiting over the disgust he felt towards his former college friend. This was one of the many damning traits that Jack held that far too many people overlooked because of his child-like presence. However, Vlad knew all too well that it wasn't youthfulness or innocence that was what Jack really held, often mistaken for as being child-like. No, it was ignorance, foolishness, and a damning amount of lack of care. Jack held a dangerous amount of hate in him—as seen from his lack of care towards there was still a human in that broken ghost boy's body. He disgusted Vlad with all of his being. How could he have even ever considered him as a friend once upon a time? He hated himself at the very thought of their former companionship.

_Ghost is a ghost_….

They talked a while over the unconscious body about the various methods of torture they had used in order to make him talk. Jack was far too interested. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he was thinking of new ideas of his own for torture. Soon, however, the Guys in White left Jack alone with the poor ghost boy so he could have some privacy in his torture devices.

"You're so sick," Vlad spat as he saw Jack pick up a vial of acid.

"Wake up," Jack ordered to the ghost boy as he dropped a bit of the acid on the boy's skin, causing him to jerk awake with a painful scream.

Confusion swept through the boy's face as he looked up his biological father's face. Then hope. Jack took away the leather strap that was keeping the boy's mouth shut when he saw he was trying to talk.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded, terrifying rage taking hold of his voice.

The boy reeled back hearing his father use such a tone with him. After a moment of regaining his composure, the boy screamed out hoarsely, "Dad! It's me! Danny!"

Jack scoffed and said viciously, "Ha! You're not Danny! You're a ghost! Danny's away with his Aunt!"

The boy shook his head. "No, Dad! It's really me!"

Jack ignored him and splashed some more acid on the dear boy's bare body. "Start talking the truth, Phantom! Who are you?"

The boy screamed from the pain and tears flowed down freely from his face as he looked up at his father's hateful eyes. "It's me, Dad. It really is." Appearing as though to be drawing upon the very last of his energy, the boy closed his glowing green eyes and when he opened them he revealed Danny Fenton's icy blue ones. "Please, Dad. Look! It's me…_Danny_."

Jack bent down and examined the eyes closely. It appeared as if a light bulb suddenly went off in his head as he took a step back from that ectoplasm-covered body.

_Showtime_, Plasmuis, the dark one, cheered gleefully.

The thing about possessing someone, unlike what Danny and his lack of experience believed, one didn't have to completely overshadow a body in order to take control of it. When that was done the person being overshadowed wouldn't really have much recollection over what it was they did after the ghost doing the possessing left their bodies. If they were to have any sort of recollection, it would all be too disordered and hazy to make any sort of connection as to what had been going on or what had really taken place. However, what Vlad and his years of experience had learned was that there was such a thing as a partial-overshadowing. During a partial-overshadowing the person being possessed would be able to have complete recollection about what they did during the possession. In fact, as opposed to just being a useless, unknowing person in the back seat of their minds, during a partial-overshadowing the person would be knowledgeable about what was going on _right then_. They would often even believe that they were the ones who were doing the actions. This ability, however, was one of extreme difficulty. Even some of the most experienced of ghosts were unable to do it skillfully if at all. Vlad, however, during all those years in the hospital and all that time used to figuring out a way of reconquering his family, had spent every free moment practicing and honing in on his abilities. He was now able to do a partial-overshadow of a person without them even knowing the wiser that they weren't in fact doing the actions they believed they were.

As soon as the recognition of who the ghost boy was sparked in Jack's eyes, Vlad stepped inside that meat puppet and began his partial-overshadowing. He couldn't risk Jack backing down from what needed to be done in order to complete Vlad's plan.

It disgusted Vlad to be in a body such as the likes of Jack's. But it was an unfortunate must.

"I know who you are," Vlad said, using Jack's voice. "I've known a while."

Surprise swept over Danny's young, bruised face. "Help me, Dad!" Danny pleaded weakly. "Help me before they come back!" Tears were flowing down his face and wetting his already ectoplasm stained hair.

Vlad made Jack smiled sinisterly and slowly shake his head. "I can't do that, son," he made Jack say, voice full of cruel glee. "I've been slowly preparing to do a similar type of thing. I've been wanting to see how you tick too. However, since the Guys in White already have everything in place for me now, why wait to start for what I've been planning to do for a while?"

Danny looked up at him, appalled. "No," he breathed, sorrowful defeat hanging in his voice.

"Oh, yes," he made Jack say as he poured more of the acid onto his son's weaken chest.

With each scream, with each cry, Vlad felt a part of himself die each time. He hated to do this. But he had to. It was for dear Danny's own good. This was the only way to save him.

Deep within that meat suit, watching as if the actions were truly his own, that man, that _monster_, thought up new ways to torture the beloved half-ghost son that lay before his eyes. His curiosities were peeked. His mind was racing. Soon, Vlad lost track of which tortures where thought up by his own mind and which were thought up by Jack's.

_You don't deserve them_, Vlad thought, using his own voice inside his head. First time in a long time.

* * *

Danny lay motionless, helpless on the examination table. He had lost all hope, all reason to fight. Once the Guys in White came back from escorting his father home he was going to tell them all everything.

_I know who you are. I've known for a while._

His father's voice still rung in his ears.

_I've been planning to do for a while…._

How could he have been so foolish? Once upon a time he had thought, a foolishly bitter hope, that perhaps his parents would accept him even with his ghost half. Stupid!

_You're not my son._

His father had played out all those sick and twisted fantasies he and his mother had cooked up over the years of interesting ways to torture ghosts. What the Guys in White had done was _nothing_ compared to what his father had.

_You're a freak._

Hours upon hours upon hours of his father relentlessly tearing apart his body.

_You're a monster._

He choked out more sobs, each breath feeling like a punch in the abdomen. His father was ashamed of him. Disgusted by him. He had even renounced him as his son.

_You sicken me._

He didn't know what hurt worse: the physical pain from all the torture and experimentation he had endured, or the hurt and rejection he felt from his father.

_I detest you._

"Danny?" he heard a voice question from far away. He dared not turn his head towards its direction, fear of the pain that would be caused from the movement. It was just his imagination anyways.

However, within only a moment later, an all too familiar and longed for voiced filled the air again. "Danny!" the voice screamed.

Fighting through the pain and the need to scream, Danny mustered up enough energy to turn his head towards the source and open his eyes. A flash of fiery, wild red hair raced towards him.

"Jazz?" Danny breathed, praying it wasn't a hallucination.


	5. Of Our Once Thought Hero

**I do not own Danny Phantom. Nor do I own a hippo. Both of these facts sadden me greatly.**

**5. Of Our Once Thought Hero**

* * *

After he felt satisfied that enough physical damage had caused an efficient amount of emotional trauma, Vlad made Jack look down at the broken, passed out, young boy before him. He felt the buffoon he was currently sharing a body with reel back at the sight. Vlad could feel the disbelief in the man over what he believed he had done.

_You can no longer go back,_ Masters, the light one, said sadly inside his head. _You've set your course, Vlad. Congratulations, you're a monster._

_You are not the one who is a monster,_ consulted Plasmuis, the dark one. _That idiot meat suit you're wearing is the real monster. All you did was make the boy look under his bed to see the monster that lurked so dangerously close._

It had been hard, but he had done the right thing, he now felt. Feeling all the curiosity, the cruel wonder, and the evil imaginations that were going on inside the head of the wretched man he was possessing, he knew that now more than ever. It had been difficult. The most difficult thing he had ever done in his whole life. More difficult than even watching the woman he loved more than life itself marry said monster while he laid helplessly in a death bed at a hospital. But it had been an unfortunate must to reveal who was the real monster here.

With a sigh, Vlad made the meat suit go back out to the lobby where the Guys in White were all talking closely together with hushed tones. Monsters they were as well.

"Jack!" F greeted proudly as he opened up his hands towards him in a congratulatory manner. "I didn't know you had it in you! He's definitely going to be talking now!"

U stepped forward and patted the meat suit on the back. Vlad cringed inwardly at the touch but kept enough control so that the meat suit wouldn't follow his actions. "You really surprised us there, Jack. Come join us for drinks. My treat."

"Cool!" Vlad made Jack say, hating himself for using such simpleton language. "Sounds groovy!"

Vlad made the meat suit follow the Guys in White into the car but immediately phased himself out of Jack once the car started rolling. He knew that since Jack believed all the actions were his that he would continue on to go have a drink with the Guys in White. He would probably try to drink away everything that he believed he had done with alcohol, only to stay up all the night regretting the actions he thought he did.

_None the wiser,_ Plasmuis, the dark one, congratulated. _Now time for the next step in the plan._

As Vlad flipped out his phone he couldn't help but to once again be proud of himself for controlling such amount of multiple parties at once. It had been _he_ who had greatly helped support and fund a certain young psychologist's convention taking place here in Washington DC. How convenient it was that the convention was so close to the Guys in White top Headquarters were he currently was located.

_How too convenient indeed; but they, none the wiser, _Plasmuis, the dark one, congratulated.

"Jazz!" Vlad cried out, sounding broken and beaten, while transforming in Plasmuis. "Jazz, _please_! It's me, Uncle Vlad. It's Danny! I need your help!"

It took a little bit of a fight to convince her that it really was him and he did really need her help, but soon she was on her way. It shouldn't have taken her too long to get here, even with the factor of having to track down a cab during such a busy hour of the day. In the meanwhile, while he waited, he duplicated himself and had the duplicates beat him senselessly. As much as it was part of the plan, to look as though the Guys in White had done a number on him as well as Danny, he couldn't help but to take the beating as an aid to the penance he deserved for what he had done in there.

"I can't believe I really did that," he breathed while a duplicate pounded into his chest with his foot.

"Well, you _did_," fought back the duplicate. "Live up to what you've done!"

After a justifiable beating, though Vlad longed for more for his guilt-ridden, tortured soul, he wanted for Jazz near the entrance of the building hidden behind a bush. He grasped onto the side of the building, feeling the relentless number his duplicates had done on him. He knew far too well though, that what he felt was nothing compared to what his son was feeling right now.

"Jazz!" Vlad called out to her when he saw her exist the stalled cab.

She looked around for the source of the noise. When she saw him cowering down behind the bush she raced towards him. Shocked at his appearance and hesitant over that fact that it was him, she slowly reached out a hand but then quickly took it back. "Where's Danny?" she demanded, fire in her eyes.

"This way," Vlad said as he stood up and held his hand against the wall. He made the half of himself closest to the wall go intangible then reached out his free hand towards her. He saw the resistance and doubt in her eyes. Although Danny was the one he really loved, he would end up having to win her over as well. "Trust me, Jasmine," Vlad said coolly as he held out his hand further. "You couldn't get into the building without a keycard, apparently; to which, I do not have. This is the only way to save your little brother."

After a sigh and a vicious glare, she caved in and grasped Vlad's hand. As soon as they phased inside though she quickly released it and turned towards him to demand, "So where's Danny?"

"Follow me," Vlad said as he led her out of the lobby and towards the experimentation rooms.

"How bad is he?" Jazz asked quietly as they crept around corridors and ran down long hallways, all the while trying to avoid any Guys in White that might happened to still be around. Vlad knew there had only ever been four in this particular building, but he had to keep up the charade of being uncertain.

"Jazz, I—" he began sadly, but then shook his head when he couldn't get the words out. She understood.

When they finally got to the place where they needed to be, Vlad held out his arm to stop them before going through the door that lead to where Danny lay.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"I just want to be sure he sees your face first," Vlad said as he slowly moved away from the door. "You are his big sister, after all. Besides, he probably thinks I'm dead and we don't want to shock him."

Vlad let out a sad sigh and slowly rubbed his temples as he heard the young girl scream out his son's name as she ran in. All was going to plan. He had to keep it together.

_We're so close! _rebuked Plasmuis, the dark one. _Don't lose it now!_

_Might as well listen to what he says_, said Masters, the light one, lonely and defeated. _You obviously don't care to listen to me anymore. Congratulations on losing the last bit of your humanity._

Vlad waited a moment before joining Jazz in the horrible, ectoplasm covered torture/experimentation room. She had been rendered speechless as she stood before his mangled body with her hands covering her mouth, tears streaming freely down her face.

He rushed over to the boy's side and looked down on him sadly.

"Vlad?" he heard the boy gasp.

Vlad gently laid a hand on the boy's head and took up his hand with the other. "I'm here, Daniel," he said softly. "I told you we were in this together. I would never leave you behind."

The young boy looked up at him, dazed and confused, before falling back into unconsciousness.

"Jazz, find me something sharp to cut these ties," Vlad instructed as he looked back at her small, shaking frame. His voice had shocked her back into the present. "These are treated with an Anti-Ghost substance. I cannot break them on my own because of that."

Jazz fumbled around for a bit before finding an ectoplasm covered scalpel. With a shaking hand, obviously appalled by the sight of it let alone having to touch it, she handed the blade to him so that he might cut the bonds.

"How are we going to get him out of here?" Jazz asked as she looked over her brother's broken body, appearing too afraid to touch it. There was hardly a place on his skin that wasn't broken. Deep gashes, areas tested by certain dangerous chemicals, unspeakable amount of burns, and countless other injuries raked over the boy's small body. Even his snow white hair had been stained an ugly color by the over-abundance of ectoplasm soaking the area.

"I may be weakened," Vlad said as he took up a spare lab coat that had been lying around and covered the bruised and broken body of his beloved son, "but I can still manage to carry him out to safety."

With a grunt Vlad picked up his son's body. He was so light, so fragile. Vlad was afraid of breaking him right then and there in his arms.

They ran out of the building and all climbed into the back of the cab that Jazz had previously taken to get there.

The cabdriver looked back at them and started, "So where t—" He froze, shocked and appalled, at the sight of Danny and the ghost carrying him. "What the hell!"

"Just drive us to the nearest motel," Vlad ordered. "If you do not I will possess you and make you do it against your own free will."

"But—but shouldn't he go to a hospital?" the cabdriver stammered.

"Just do what I say! _Now!_"Vlad roared back. When he saw Jazz looked up at him with questioning eyes, Vlad leaned closer and whispered. "No human will know how to take care of a ghost. If anything, they'll want to study him and we'll end up right back at this very situation we're in right now."

Danny remained unconscious for the duration of the trip. He didn't even wake when Vlad phased them all through an unoccupied motel room or when he laid him on the bed. As soon as he laid him down Vlad immediately went to work tending to his son's wounds. Jazz did whatever she could to help; whether water was needed, more towels, or even a chair for Vlad to sit on so that he might rest for a moment. In between running errands, however, she would hold dearly to her brother's hand and whisper uncertain promises that everything was going to be alright.

Suddenly, after a long time of lying motionless and soundless, Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked around. "Dad!" he cried out.

"Dad's not here," Jazz said reassuringly as she knelt in close to be sure that her brother could see her next to him. "I'm here though. Me, Jazz."

Danny shook his head weakly. "Where's Dad?" he asked in a petrified voice. "Keep him away!"

"What do you mean by that, Daniel?" Vlad asked as he took one of Danny's now flailing hands.

Danny choked out a painful sob as he continued to shake his head. "Keep him away! He did this! Keep him away! Please!"

"Dad?" Jazz asked, confused. "Danny, are you sure about that? Maybe you were just—"

"No!" the young, broken boy cried out. "He knew, Jazz. He said he's known for a while. He said he's been planning this."

With that, the young child passed out again, obviously having used all his energy on his outburst.

"What does he mean?" Jazz pleaded with Vlad. "Do you know anything about this?"

Vlad shook his head sadly. He looked down and began, "I had heard one of them talking about bringing someone in since they weren't having the results they wanted with us. I didn't know who it was. I didn't see said person either. They concentrated all their energy on Danny, he being the weaker of us two. Given your father's occupation, however, it's not out of the imagination that they could have called upon him for help for something like this."

Jazz sat back in her seat, disbelief ridden across her face. She soon buried her face in her hands and let out a weak sob. Vlad laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she quietly whispered, "I had always thought…always wanted to believe…that when they found out that they would accept him…. I mean, I knew there was the possibility that they wouldn't—I just mean, they are ghost hunters after all. I just never wanted to believe that they would actually do such a thing."

"I'm so sorry, Jasmine," Vlad consulted quietly. "I remember back when I first got in the accident and was put into the hospital…the very thing caused by your father…how much it hurt when he rejected me. He never once came to see me. I always hoped that he would, but he never did." He lifted her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes. "I understand the pain your father can cause. I had just hoped that having you children had released him of that quality."

Jazz looked down over her beaten brother. "What do we do?" she breathed.

Vlad stood up and looked out the window. "I suggest we call your mother and see if she knows anything about this. If she indeed had nothing to do with this, then I highly suggest we tell her everything. We could sure use her ghost expertise right about now."

* * *

Danny had been ready to die. He had been ready to give up right then and there. He had planned to tell the Guys in White everything they wanted to know as soon as they got back and aid them in finding a way to kill him. He had been so set to end the suffering, so set to die.

Then, out of nowhere, he saw them. The last two people he had ever possibly hoped to see: his beloved sister, who had been off enjoying herself at a convention far away, and his archenemy, who he had once thought to be dead but was now his savior.

"Vlad?"

_I told you we were in this together._

His rescuer's words still rung through his ears.

_I would never leave you behind._

Just when he was about ready to give in and die, his archenemy—the person who he had previously believed would rather put him into a horrible situation like this rather than save him from it—saved him while his father watched him die.

"Dad," he cried out, still feeling his father rip into his flesh and inject all sorts of torturous chemicals into his body. The mere _delight_ he had had while doing it…it was horrible.

"Dad's not here," he heard a voice say from so far away. Jazz. She was still here! He forced his eyes open just to catch a glimpse of the sister he loved so dearly. "I'm here though," her voice continued. "Me, Jazz."

A sudden fearful thought shot him. What if Jazz had unknowingly called their father and brought him in to see him in this state? What if she had tried to lure the monster here, thinking that he would help rather than destroy?

"Where's Dad?" he forced himself to speak. "Keep him away!"

Another voice then joined them. A voice he had once hated but now felt eternally grateful towards. "What do you mean by that, Daniel?" Danny could feel him taking hold of his hand. Normally, he would throw it away or use this move against him in a fight. But today, he just held onto it, thankful for any grace or stability at the moment.

"Keep him away!" he choked out with a sob. "He did this! Keep him away! _Please!"_

"Dad?" he heard Jazz ask. Confusion, doubt, and horror were drenched within her voice. "Danny, are you sure about that? Maybe you were just—"

"No!" he cried out, desperate to make her understand the horror what that man, their own_ father_, had done. "He knew, Jazz. He said he's known for a while. He said he's been planning this."

With that, he couldn't hang on any longer. He felt his body slip back into unconsciousness and his mind drift far away, save from any more harm.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he was able to wake up again. Upon opening his eyes he slowly realized that he was in a different room than he had previously woken up in. Before, even though he hadn't really gotten a good look at it but from what he had been able to hear from Vlad's conversations, they were at a dingy motel. Now, however, they were in a plush, well light room. It looked strangely familiar, however. It was as though he had been there once, long ago. After a few minutes of staring at the distinguishing features of the room it was finally placed in his memory. This was the room he had stayed in when his family had come over for Vlad's college reunion back when.

"Danny?" a voice said from the doorway.

Danny looked over and saw his mother rushing towards him with tears streaming down her face. She sat next to him on the bed and wrapped her arms around him. Danny wasn't quite sure what to do. He was thankful that he was in his human form but he didn't really understand why his mother was acting this way towards him—that was, unless someone had told her everything that had happened.

"Danny, I know," she finally said tearing herself away from his shoulder to look him in the eyes.

"How much do you know?" Danny asked, leaning back, hesitant as to how to react.

"Everything," she sighed as she looked over him sadly. "Vlad told me everything."

"I'm sorry as to resort to invading your private life, Danny," Vlad said softly as he made himself known, leaning against the doorway. "We were in need of her expertise and I couldn't have helped you all on my own. The Guys in White did get me too, after all."

Never before had Danny felt so relieved to see Vlad—with the exception of when he initially saved him, of course. Danny was no longer seeing Vlad as an arch enemy that he needed to take down. He was now seeing him as the man who saved his life, the one who rescued him from endless torture, and who also knew well the very pain he had endured. He gave Vlad a weak, but grateful smile.

"Does she know about…?" Danny started to ask, hoping that Vlad would get the hint that he meant what part his father had in it.

Vlad nodded slowly. "Yes, I told her about that too—all that I was able to gather from what you said during your moments of consciousness, that is." He then started to slowly enter the room, as if trying to not overload Danny in his fragile state. "I've offered up my humble abode as to give you a place to recover, all things considered. And even afterwards, you can stay as long as you need to. I understand your family is going through a very rough and trying time at the moment."

If, during this time last week, Vlad had made the exact same offer Danny would have ridden him off and called him a creep just wanting to get to his mother. But after having been saved by him and seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Danny did not object. Going back to Fenton Works would mean facing his father, which was the last thing he wanted to do right now. If ever.

"Where's Jazz?" Danny asked as he leaned back in the bed. The damage to his ghost half had not fully transferred over to his human half, but it definitely did still ache and even parts had shallow yet noticeable gashes were some transferring had occurred.

"She's downstairs," his mother answered him as she ran her fingers gently through his shaggy hair.

"I'll let her know that you're awake," Vlad said as he exited the room, obviously wanting to give Danny and his mother some privacy so that they could talk about certain things.

As soon as Vlad shut the door Danny looked down at his thin, slightly shaking hands and began, "Mom, I'm so sorry I never told you…."

His mother took him into another embrace and said reassuringly, "Danny, don't worry about it. It's all okay. Everything is okay. I want you to know that nothing has changed between us. You're my son and I love you so very much. I accept you for who you are and love you even more because of it. I'm so very proud of you, Danny Phantom."

Danny broke down. He wrapped his arms around his mother and started to cry shamelessly in her shoulder. His mother hadn't taken part of the torture, but after what his father had done he expected the worse out of her as well.

His mother cried into his shoulder as he did hers. "Danny, I want you to know I'm so sorry. I never thought your father would ever—"

"Can we please not talk about him?" Danny asked, feeling like a pathetic, scared child.

"Of course, honey," his mother said as she pulled him into a tighter embrace.

Soon Jazz joined them and they all had a quiet moment. They took in the love and appreciation they had for each other—just happy that they were alive and together. Danny decided that tomorrow he was going to call Tucker and Sam to tell them all about what had happened—if Jazz hadn't already.

_I told you we were in this together. I would never leave you behind._

_You're my son and I love you so very much. I accept you for who you are and love you even more because of it. I'm so very proud of you, Danny Phantom._

_Danny? Danny! I'm here though. Me, Jazz._

_We've been right there with you kicking ghost butts for how long?_

_Try putting some faith in us like we have faith in you._

These were the people he needed around him the most right now. His mom, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and even Vlad. These were the people he needed to help him recover from his torment. He wouldn't be able to do it without them and he knew it.

His family.

* * *

Back on that lonely street within that oh-so haunted town of Amity Park—where even the sign reassured you you were safe—a house stood on the corner. Inside, the once nice and clean house was now a wreck. Every piece of furniture overturned, every piece of ghost equipment smashed, and every single photo of _him_, ripped to shreds.

There had to be some explanation. There had to be something that could tell him why he did the things that he did.

Sure, he had been suspecting such a thing for a while. And sure, he might had been wanting to do some experiments once the truth made itself known. But not like this. Never like this.

"How?" he asked, helplessly and a complete mess, into the remnants of the broken mirror that lay before him. "Why?"

He wanted to think of some explanation, something that could tell him that it really hadn't been him doing those actions. But he knew all too well that he did. He remembered every single experiment and torture method that he had performed on his weakened and defenseless son.

He could remember the cries. The screams. The begs for mercy.

_Please, Dad! No!_

He punched another hole in the wall with a scream of fury.

His son was never going to forgive him. His wife was never going to come home. And his daughter was never going to look him in the eyes again.

He had ruined his entire life within just the fraction of hours.

Everything.

Everything that he had that was actually worth something in his life, was gone.

Forever.

How could he have done those things? It was like he saw and knew what he was doing, but couldn't stop himself no matter how hard he tried.

Couldn't stop himself no matter how hard he tried.

Couldn't stop himself.

Couldn't stop.

"What if…" he bgean, raising his head to once again look at himself in the broken mirror. "No…no, I remember seeing everything happen right then. I have perfect recollection…."

He looked down at the broken shards, covered in blood from having cut his hand while smashing the glass.

The thought still echoed through his head: what if?

Without warning he dashed down the hallway and down into the lab. He took out a syringe from one of the overturned cabinets and began tying off his arm, waiting for the vein to show.

"What if…one was powerful enough to…."

After a quick breath he stuck the syringe into his arm and started drawing blood. If he had been overshadowed then his blood would have some form of ecto-signature that the ghost had left behind. It seemed like an impossibility, considering all the inconsistencies it had with a normal overshadowing. The recollection…the present and conscious witnessing of events…. But he couldn't shake the thought from his mind, not without the proper testing and confirmation….

What if?

**Thank you for reading! Please review! It shall make my little, dreadful heart go aflutter! **


	6. As Enemies Become Heroes

**It took me a little longer than normal to put this one up. For some reason, this chapter was terribly hard to write. Enjoy! And, as always, reviews are extremely appreciated!**

**Also, nojudging15, that past chapter wasn't written just for you; THIS ONE WAS! Forgive me, I am amused easily.**

**6. As Enemies Become Heroes **

* * *

Eyes, nearly frozen over from the lack of blinking because of the amount of time that had been wasted on staring at flashing computer screens. Mouth, dry and cracking from the lack of nutrition it should have been receiving. Ears, ringing from the lack of sleep. His whole body, stressed an exhausted to the max. But this matter not to him. There was only one thing that matter to him at this point.

_Dad, stop! Please!_

It had to be there.

_Please, Dad!_

Something.

_I'm sorry! I'm sorry!_

Anything.

_Just please stop!_

It just had to!

_Daddy, no!_

However, just merely finding a trance of an ectoplasmic signature in his blood wouldn't clear his name. No, he had a long way to go before his family would ever _think_ about looking him in the eyes again. He knew he would have to kill the ghost that made him do such horrible, awful things to his son. Revenge would be the only way to redemption.

However, this first meant he would have to figure out how exactly to kill a ghost. It had been attempted before—obviously, from the wretched experiments he had taken a part in—but never really done. A lot of times, if a ghost hunter were to think they killed a ghost, they would often face embarrassment and disappointment when they would see the ghost later and realize that it had only just disappeared on them.

Slimy abominations.

Perhaps there was a way to compare the ectoplasmic signature that was left in his blood—if, of course, he ever were to actually find it—to ghosts to be sure to find the right one. Like a ghost DNA of sorts.

With a sigh, he stood up and pressed the button on a flashing machine. This test was his last hope. He had originally made the machine to rip ghosts apart, but all it did really was just draw ectoplasmic traces from the air to lead you to a ghost. If it was able to draw any ecto-signature from the blood, that would be his suspicions were confirmed.

It had to be there.

It couldn't _not_ be there!

Or at least…that's what he had to belief rather than face what he saw happen before his eyes.

He sat back in a chair while he waited and looked longingly at the various ghost-guns and nets that laid over in the corner. _Enough for two._ He hadn't been ghost hunting without his wife in years. She was far better than him in so many ways, especially with this one. As soon as this test was done, no matter what the outcome might be, he was going to suit up and catch the first ghost he could find. Once he did, he was going to experiment to find out what was the best way in finally ripping a ghost apart molecule by molecule.

He, Jack Fenton, was going to be the first one to kill something that was already dead.

A rush of cold adrenaline and fear coursed through him as he heard the machine ding, signaling to the world that it was done running the most important test of Jack's life. He sat there for a while, not wanting to know. Not wanting to think that he could have actually done those unthinkable things to his son.

But he had to look.

He had to know.

And with a sigh, he raised up to see.

* * *

_"Hold still, Phantom!"_

_He tried to fight away from the restraints, even making the table start to shake in the process. He had to get free! He had to get away from them!_

_K pinned down his shoulders with such force there was a painful 'crack' that sounded from somewhere in his body. Danny let out a panicked yelp as we saw O coming towards him with a huge, painful looking needle filled with a glowing red substance inside._

_"What's that?" he managed to choke out amidst his hyperventilation. _

_Without warning K released one of the hands he was using to pin Danny down and punched him in the face with great force. Danny gasped, his face frozen in momentary shock from the sudden, powerful blow._

_"We'll be the ones asking the questions, Phantom," O spat. He then rammed the thick needle into Danny's arm._

_At first, he only felt the stinging bite from the needle, but then suddenly it felt like his entire body was on fire. It was as if his very ectoplasm was set to boil, cooking him from the inside out. He heard an odd, blood-curdling sound; but soon realized it was his own screaming. His body began to convulse from the pain and his vision went dark, as if his very eyes had been melted from the torturing heat._

_"Get it out! Stop it! Get it out of me!"_

"Danny!" he heard someone scream from so far away. "Wake up!"

His mind slowly was brought back to reality by the presence of someone trying to shake him awake. But he dared not open his eyes. He knew that it was just his mind playing a trick on him, that voice he heard calling to him, and it was really the Guys in White trying to have him conscious so they could perform another painful experiment on him. They liked to have him awake during them so they could see the full extent of his pain.

"Danny!" the voice said again. "Come one, Danny! Wake up! It's just a dream!"

Just a dream, oh how he wished! How glorious would it be to just wake up and this entire nightmare just be one hellishly bad dream. But he knew it was not. The pain in his body was more than what any dream, no matter how bad, could hold.

"Please! Stop!" he cried out. "I'm sorry just please, please stop!"

"Danny! It's Jazz! Wake up!"

Jazz. Just the mere mention of her name brought him such hope that he was able to bring himself to open his eyes, just in case that her presence might really be real. Slowly and carefully, he opened his eyes and was instantly greeted by a flood of blinding light. A moment of pure horror and panic seized him, thinking himself still under the hospital light, and his body froze. He relaxed as his eyes adjusted and he saw that he was back in his room at Vlad's mansion with Jazz worriedly leaning over him.

"Jazz," he breathed as a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry," she said while looking him over, assessing his body for anymore wounds that might have transferred and looking over the state of the ones that already had. "I know you need your rest…but the screaming I heard. I couldn't bare it."

"Sorry," he muttered as he forced himself into sitting position. His body protested at the movement, desiring to just stay in a fetal position for the rest of time.

"Oh no," Jazz waved. "It's fine. You have nothing to be sorry about, Danny. Really."

Danny just sat there for a moment in silence, appreciating his freedom and the presence of his sister. His new freedom was so treasured it almost seemed unreal, like at any moment he would wake back up and find himself again in the lab.

A thought occurred to him that the really had no idea how much time had passed. He could only remember brief moments, quick interactions with his family, when he was awake but then would quickly go back to the safety of sleep. It could have been hours or days since Vlad and Jazz rescued him from the torture chamber.

"What time is it?" he asked as he rubbed his head.

"It's 9 o'clock in the morning," answered Jazz. "You've been sleeping for two days."

He let out a groan, hating the thought of sleeping for that long.

They sat there in silence for a couple minutes until Jazz cleared her throat and asked quietly, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been thrown in a wood chipper," he answered with a grunt. "Other than that I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine, Danny," she argued. "You couldn't have gone through all that and be fine. Please don't lie to me."

Danny looked down at his hands. He knew Jazz was going to try to press to make him talk about what he had gone through while in there, in that horrible, horrible place. But he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to burden her with the truth. He just wanted to enjoy the taste of freedom and pretend it never happened.

"Not now, Jazz," he muttered, hoping that would keep the conversation away for now.

"You know you'll need to sometime, right?" she insisted.

"Fine, just not now," he fought back, becoming more annoyed with her insistency.

They sat there again in silence for a couple more minutes before Jazz announced, "Sam and Tucker are downstairs. They've been here waiting for you to wake up ever since they heard."

"I want to see them," Danny said as he started to get up.

"Just wait," Jazz said as she held up her hands to stop him. "I can get them. You just wait here."

Danny shook his head. "No, I want to walk. It's been a while since I've walked anywhere. I want to do it now."

Jazz led Danny down the long, plush hallways. They took it slowly, often Danny having to pause and lean against a wall to gather back up his strength. Jazz kept one constant arm hovered behind him, ready to catch him when he would fall.

Finally, they made it to the kitchen where they saw Tucker and Sam talking quietly with Vlad. Danny was surprised to see them all getting along, knowing all too well the previous hatred that Tucker and Sam had shared with him towards Vlad. Perhaps they had given him a chance after hearing how he had helped to save Danny.

It took them all a moment to realize that he was even there. Sam was the first to take note of him. She immediately rushed towards him, obviously wanting to attack him with an embrace, but stopped just short of him, not wanting to injury further his already beaten body.

"Danny, I'm so glad to see you alive," she said with a weak smile, face streaked with black massacre. She had obviously been crying a lot.

"You and me both," Danny said with a weak smile.

"Nice to see you up and around, Daniel," Vlad greeted. He looked a bit rough and worn, but it appeared as though he had recovered well within the past two days. Danny had never heard him actually talk about what the Guys in White had done to him, but given the less worse of state that he had seen in him, he assumed he had been right when he had guessed the Guys in White would try to find out a way to kill them by experimenting with him, the weaker one, then move on to Vlad, the stronger one. "I highly encourage you to eat something while you catch up with your friends here. Your body really needs the replenishment."

"Yeah," Danny agreed as he gave Sam a smile then sat down at one of the barstools at the counter.

Vlad then began to prepare a plate of eggs for Danny, despite the protests and the insistency that he could do it himself. It still felt so weird to Danny, to trust Vlad like this. After so long of feeling distrust and hatred towards him, it was almost as if Vlad had become an entirely different person. He was no longer the creepy old man who wanted his father gone to get to his mother. He was now the man who saved his life after his father tried to end it. Danny now felt a great deal of gratitude and appreciation towards Vlad. A level of which he didn't know if he'd ever be able to repay.

"Thanks, Vlad," Danny smiled as Vlad handed him the plate full of scrambled eggs.

"No problem, Daniel," he said as he wiped his hands off on a towel then draped it over the sink. "I'll leave you to your friends so that you all might have some privacy."

No one said a word for a while after he left. All Sam and Tucker could do was stare at Danny while he tried to eat his eggs. It felt like being strapped down to the table all over again. Having people watching him, scrutinizing his every move as if being under a microscope, he hated it. He ended up shoving the last few bites in his mouth just to get his meal over with.

"Danny, man," Tucker began as soon as he was done, "I'm sorry. This is all our fault. We should have known something was up when—"

Danny held his hand up to stop him from talking any further. "Please, don't start with the whole 'it's my fault' crap. There's no possible way that any of this could have been your fault. Anyways, I want to just forget it all happened and move on with our lives."

"But Danny," Sam began, but Danny stopped her too.

"Please, not now. I don't want to do this now. I just want to have a normal day. I've missed them." He sighed as he rubbed his temples. He felt Sam put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but when he recoiled she instantly took it back. "Sorry," he muttered, having been not in control over the action.

"It's okay," she whispered.

With another sigh he put his hands down, but continued to look down at the dark marble counter instead of the eyes of his worried friends. "So how was ghost hunting?" he asked, trying to get away from the subject that everyone had been inquiring him about so far today.

Tucker took the hint and instantly went right in. "Well, we got the Box Ghost a couple times, even had a run-in with the Lunch Lady. The worst there was was Skulker—who I can still sadly hack with my PDA. Nothing big. Pretty quiet week, really."

"Good," Danny said, relieved.

They then continued to talk on about idle small talk—catching up what's going on in the news, latest gossip about Paulina, etc.—until Tucker finally took up one of the pink elephants in the room. "So…Vlad, huh? Never thought he'd actually be on our side, for once."

"You and me both," Danny snorted. "He seems like an actual normal, caring person now as opposed to just some lonely, horny old man who wants to sleep with my mom."

"So you really trust him?" Sam asked, concern in her voice. She hadn't seemed completely won over by their new, unlikely ally yet.

"As a matter of fact, I do, Sam," Danny hissed, offended that she would even bring his trust into question at this point. "Believe it or not, he saved me. You weren't there, Sam. You don't know what my Dad…you just, you don't understand!"

"Alright," she said, retreating seeing how worked up and upset Danny was getting. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"No," Danny sighed, burring his face into his hands. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"I can't handle this!" Vlad screamed as he picked up his desk chair and threw it into one of the wall-to-ceiling bookshelves. The chair broke into pieces and a couple of shelves snapped in half, expelling all its contents onto the floor.

_You should have listened to me while you had the chance,_ Masters, the light one, hissed into his ear.

_Will you calm down!_ Plasmuis, the dark one, rebuked. _You're winning! Everything has gone according to plan! Everyone you love is now safe and sound in your house. So get a grip! _

Vlad sunk down to the floor and crawled into a ball underneath his desk. He was grateful he had sound-proofed this room long ago in order to practice his ghost skills without restraint. Now the room served its purpose as allowing him to take out his frustrations.

Now that his family was safe inside his house, how was he supposed to face them every day knowing what he had done? The pain his dear Danny was going through, he couldn't bear it. How could he have broken his one and only son like that? Perhaps he was the monster after all.

_You are the monster,_ roared Masters, the light one.

"No," he hissed at himself, crawling out from underneath the desk. "_I'm_ not the monster. _He_ is."

_Good,_ smiled Plasmuis, the dark one. _Now you're finally starting to make sense!_

After gaining some much needed composure and tiding up his appearance, he went back out to the rest of the house. He spotted his son still in the kitchen with his friends, however he appeared to be looking very agitated and stressed, neither of which he needed right now.

"Is everything alright?" he asked coolly, going no further than the doorway.

"Yeah," Sam replied curtly, obviously still not trusting him. Vlad cared little if this one favored him or not. He really could give a care less about the little goth poser. Of the two, the one he had interest in was his son's male friend. He had the leadership and technology skills that showed he might prove himself useful one day.

"Actually," Tucker began, "Sam and I were just leaving. Danny needs his rest. Hang in there, man."

Vlad noticed that his son said his goodbyes to his male friend but not the female one. She must have angered him in some way to make his so obviously distraught.

He gave them a nod as they left then quietly made his way over to the barstool next to Danny. "Would you like to go back to your room or would you care for some other type of scenery?" he offered.

Danny let out a frustrated sigh as he sat back in his seat, eyes far away. "They just don't understand," he sighed, defeated.

"And how would they?" Vlad began quietly. When his son didn't say anything he continued. "When someone goes through a tragedy, the people who love and care for that person the most desire with all their hearts to be there for them. They want tell them everything is going to be okay. They want to tell that person how sorry they are and how they blame themselves—not realizing that's only helping themselves and their own guilt towards the situation rather than aid the one they're trying to counsel.

"I know what you want, Daniel," Vlad said quietly, his son now looking at him in the eyes, as if hanging on his every word. He could tell just by the look in his icy blue eyes that he was understanding and appreciating everything he was saying, so he continued. "You want a sense of normalcy. You want everything to be just as the way it was before this all happened. I'm sorry to tell you, that it won't be easy and it's not going to happen in just one day. You need to heal. This is what you're friends and family are trying to help you to do. It's hard to realize that you can't do everything on your own, I know. But, I will be there for you any way that I can. I promised you that I will not leave you behind and that promise continues even now."

His son opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. He smiled at him then looked down at the floor. "Thanks, Vlad."

"Always," Vlad smiled back, "Little Badger."

_See, _said Plasmuis, the dark one, _I told you you could do this. Have faith in yourself._

"So, would you like to go back to your room or, rather, I have a whole room full of big screens that have access to Pay-For-View?"

* * *

Imagine, if you will, the excitement a puppy feels when its beloved kindergarten master comes home from a long day of school. His little master can leave him for hours, forget to take him for a walk, or even accidentally step on his little paw, but this doesn't matter to the little puppy. He loves his master and the excitement he feels for when he knows he should be coming home is astronomical.

This was the excitement the Box Ghost felt as he waited for the portal to open.

"What to do today?" he pondered out loud.

Perhaps he could go to the shipping store and find some new boxes to possess. He would have to be sure to go to his favorite one because he had been having such an urge to pop some bubble-wrap lately! Perhaps, after that, he would go down to the grocery store to play with the all those various types of boxed foods. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would run into the Lunch Lady while there. He had spotted her there a couple times recently and it always made his little, dead, ectoplasmic heart skip a beat whenever he laid eyes on her. And, after all that came to pass, he could end the day with finding Phantom. He loved to pester him! He knew well how hard Phantom's job was and all the rough ghosts he went up against, he also knew well that he wasn't the strongest of ghosts on the block. If he was going to go back into the Ghost Zone anyways, he would always let Phantom do it, a sort of easy break between all the hard ghosts. He knew he annoyed Phantom to hell and back, but he always hope Phantom would appreciate an easy fight between the epic battles. It was his way of showing how much he cared and respected what he did.

The Box Ghost rubbed his hands in anticipation. Any second now!

Suddenly the young cowboy with his skeleton horse floated up beside him.

"I am the Box Ghost," he cried out, excitement getting the better of him. "And I was in line first to escape this un-box-like ghostly dimension of doom!"

"So?" Youngblood challenged. "I want to get out of here and have some real fun instead of what all you old cracks do!"

"I am the Box Ghost!" he cried out again. He then leaned in close to the small ghost child and whispered. "And the male Fenton ghost hunter is most likely to be on the other side right now and I know how much you hate adults. Better let me go first to scare him off for you. BEWARE!"

"Fine," Youngblood sighed as he rolled his eyes and floated away.

As the Box Ghost turned back around he let out a small squeal of excitement as he saw the ghost portal opening. He could see through the green haze that the Fenton lab on the other side was completely empty. He clapped his hands with a flurry of excitement then jumped through.

Even though nobody was there, he just simply couldn't contain himself, "I am the Box Ghost. BEW—"

His last and most beloved part of his usual speech was cut off when suddenly he was knocked to the hard, linoleum floor by a sudden, powerful force. He looked up, dazed and confused, and saw that he was trapped in an Anti-Ghost net. A shiver of fear went through him by the entrapment but he quickly regained his cool.

He looked up to see the familiar large, orange ghost hunter over in the corner. The shadows shrouded him in an eerie cloak. The Box Ghost took a gulp then shouted out, "I am the Box Ghost!"

Suddenly, however, before he could finish his beloved speech, he felt a sharp pain pinching his shoulder. He looked over to see a peculiar dart protruding from his skin. It suddenly then felt like the whole world began spinning. He tried to maintain a grip on reality, but it was pointless. Soon, whatever substance that had been in the dart put him in an unconscious state.

The next thing he knew he was opening his eyes to a blinding white light. It was so bright he could have sworn this was the bright light at the end of the tunnel he heard so much about. However, he was dead and he knew there was no light for him, so he blinked several times to try to make sense of what was going on. He soon realized that the light was actually one of those large, bright lights that are often seen above operating tables. He continued to look around and a sudden fear rushed through him when he realized he was strapped down to an examination table.

"You're awake," a voice—one to which he knew was the male Fenton ghost hunter's but it was so entirely much darker than usual he barely recognized it—said afar off, out of sight behind some machines. "Good," he added, even more darkly. "I want you to be awake for this."

"Wh—what do you mean?" the Box Ghost stammered, voice shaking and pulse racing from fear.

The large, orange-clad man emerged from behind the machines tapping a long, jagged knife on his chin in a mocking fashion. "Oh, we're just going to have a little fun, that's all." The hunter slowly loomed towards him. His eyes were wild, full of rage and cruel glee. He licked his lips with horrible excitement as he neared the restrained ghost. While slowly gracing the cold, metal blade gently over his bare skin, the mad ghost hunter leaned in close to the blue ghost's ear. His breath sent a shiver down his spine and his cold, wicked voice made his dead heart skip a beat. "Now, this may hurt a little, but I don't want you to pass out from pain just yet. I have a lot I want to try."

…

_"Stop! Oh god, please stop! Noooo!"_


	7. And Heroes Become Enemies

**It's a shorter chapter than my previous, but more will come soon. Please, enjoy, my lovelies. And, as always, please review. Even if you just want to tell me 'YOUR WRITING TASTES LIKE UNICORN SHIT!', just please review.**

**7. And Heroes Become Enemies **

* * *

_"LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

She ran out of the room and quickly shut the door behind her. He was getting worse, they all knew it. He refused to talk to anyone about anything that had happened and was now aggressively pushing everyone in his life away. What his father had done to him…it had broken his trust in the people who loved him the most.

Sam leaned against the wall then slowly slid down it. She buried her face in her knees and let some tears fall silently.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered. She couldn't just sit by and watch her best friend destroy himself like this. He was barely hanging on and it wasn't going to get any better as long as he refused to talk to everyone like he had been.

Tucker was still inside the bedroom, probably trying to distract Danny's mind with senseless things like video games or supermodels. Perhaps she should have been doing the same thing, trying to distract him from what happened rather than force him face it, but she just couldn't. Jazz agreed with her. She, like how Sam was now, had been banned from entering Danny's bedroom due to their insistency on the matter.

With a sigh, Sam got up and decided to wander the long, plush hallways instead of just merely going home and sulking like she wanted to. Going home meant giving up, and she wasn't about to do that. So instead she walked. She didn't know where she was going, nor did she care. All she wanted to do was think about how she could possibly made the situation better…and worry about how she could make it worse.

It had been nearly a week since he had gotten back. For the first day, he had been easily agitated, but he still wanted everyone around him. Now, however, he was angry all the time and flipped out on everyone for the slightest of things. Sam knew he was well within his rights to be angry, but it scared her how far down this road he could go. If he got angry enough, once his ghost-self healed, he was capable of doing some really scary things. She hated to think what he could do it he decided he wanted revenge of the Guy in White for what they did to him; or, even worse, what he could do to his father.

She had been wondering for a while, lost within the realms of her mind, when suddenly she heard some movement behind one of the doors. She ducked behind one of the corners, not wanting anyone to see her in such a sorry state, and waited as quietly as he could. She held her breath as she heard a door open and then close again. Soon, she saw Vlad walking down the hallway, completely unaware of her presence.

Watching him as he made his way silently down the hallway, Sam couldn't help but to think back to a time where she and her friends hated Vlad with all their hearts. Then, he was an evil, very creepy man and an even worse ghost who sought to do nothing more than to make their lives—mainly Danny's—hell. Now it was completely different. He was an actual person these days, someone who cared for her broken friend as much as she did—maybe even more. She was still wry and careful of him, but had obtained a new level of respect and gratitude towards him. He had saved her best friend after being captured himself, after all. Because of that, he deserved a second chance.

Vlad hadn't gotten it nearly as bad as Danny did. He had been rough the first day but looked perfectly fine now in regards to his physical health. Emotionally, however, Sam could tell that he had been quite broken—perhaps even dealing with a lot of unpleasant emotions over the fact that he couldn't get to Danny sooner than he did, preventing some of the torture that occured. He had become very protective of Danny, always hovering and making sure that he was alright. It wasn't to the point of smothering yet—unlike his mother—but he was nearing it. Unlike the rest of them, Vlad was able to share a bond of understanding towards experiences in this case. Sam hoped that perhaps Vlad could get Danny to open up. At this point, she really didn't care who Danny talked to as long as he talked.

After she was sure he was gone, curiosity got the best of her and she decided she wanted to know what had been going on in the room Vlad had just exited. As previously mentioned, while she did have a new respect for him, she still couldn't completely shake her old suspicions of him. She had no idea of what sorts of malicious things could have been going on behind that door, especially in his weakened state, but she just had to check for her own mind's sake.

When Sam quietly opened the door and peeked in she froze. The sight of the room scared her greatly. Every piece of furniture had been smashed to smithereens, walls blasted and crumbling from Vlad's ghostly rays, and it appeared as though he had caused several fires throughout the room. The condition of the room made her momentarily think that they should perhaps shift their focus from making Danny open up to Vlad. He was obviously experiencing some things that needed to be dealt with and his anger and wrath was far more dangerous than Danny's.

Sam was just about shut the door, walk away, and try to put the horrific sight behind her when she saw a circular, green, glowing portal through one of the smashed walls. She knew that Vlad had a secret portal hidden somewhere around in this huge mansion, but she hadn't known where—until now.

Perhaps it had been the sight of the portal, perhaps it had been the sight of the smashed grandfather clock in the corner, perhaps even he himself had whispered the idea into her head, but suddenly a new idea struck her. If Clockwork could go back in time and have it to where Danny never got captured by the Guys in White, then everything would go back to normal.

Sam raced over to the portal, careful not to injure herself on the wrecked shreds of the broken furniture or burn herself on the still smoldering pile of books. She stood in front of it, not quite sure what to do next. It's not like she exactly knew where Clockwork lived or how to even get to Frostbite to get the Infi-map to guide her there. Her only chance would be if she could stick her head in, find a nice ghost, and get them to take her to either Clockwork or Frostbite. She knew her chances were next to nothing, but she had to try.

After taking a breath, she closed her eyes and stuck her head into the portal.

"I've been expecting you," a familiar voice said to her before she could even open her eyes.

Once she opened her eyes she gasped. She had been expecting to see the green realm with the floating doors, but instead her head was now in Clockwork's lair.

"Come in," he beckoned, changing from his child form to that of an old man. As she brought herself into his dark, grand lair he continued, "I knew you were going to be looking for me, and I'm not exactly easy to find unless I want you to find me. I decided to save us both some time and just bring you here in this time-saving fashion."

"I suppose you know why I'm already here then," Sam began as she hesitantly stepped forward. She looked around, taking in all the sights. She had always thought his lair had been beautiful. It had a certain gothic, elegant feel about it that she always admired, even just within the short time she had been there when she last came to his eternal dwelling. She couldn't help but to let her eyes wander over to the Thermos in the corner, an evil, horrible face imprinted on its metal surface. She shivered at the thought of what dwelled inside.

"I do," Clockwork said, "but say it anyway. Being omnipresent often takes away from my opportunity to have a decent conversation with others."

Sam sighed. "Well, you probably already know about Danny…how he got captured…tortured…. Anyways, I want you to send me back in time so I can stop it from ever happening. I just want things to go back to normal."

"I knew you would ask that of me," Clockwork sighed as he turned his back towards her to watch one of his screens that displayed events from all of time. On the screen a small child was playing with a bright red ball in his front yard. He couldn't have been more than three years old and he was having the time of his life. "You know, Sam," he began, sounding unusually saddened, "I don't have an easy job." He paused for a moment to watch the child again. It had thrown the ball up in the air which then caused it to roll out in the street. The child then lit up with a smile as it waddled on after it. "I really hate it most days." Suddenly, a car came into view just as the child reached down to pick up his ball. Sam cried out, but it was futile. The driver probably hadn't even seen the child as he crawled out to the street. With a sickening crunch, the car speed over the child like a speed-bump, leaving behind a broken, bloody, small body. Only a second passed before a woman came running into view, sobbing and pleading over the now dead child. "Today is one of those days that I especially do.

"While I do have the ability to go back and forth in the lines of time," he began as he turned back around to face her, the screen still focused on the young, grieving mother, "and while I do have the ability to change it, I'm still just a spectator. Nothing more."

"So are you saying you won't help me," Sam demanded, heart breaking over the sight that had yet to end on the screen.

"Yes," he sighed, changing into his adult form, "though it's not that I don't want to. If I had it my way, I would go back and make it to where the one who is responsible would have never been born. But I can't do that, you see. I can't go back and change one person's past just because I don't like something that happens to them. If that were the case, then I would be going back in time and changing things infinitely so that everyone would never die before their time and live long, happy lives. Our existence lies on sequences of events, Sam. Good events and bad."

Sam shook her head, unbelieving of what she was hearing. How could Clockwork not help her? He saved Danny before, why couldn't he save him again?

"While I may be able to go back in time and fix things," he began again, changing into his child form, "you have an ability that I do not."

"And what's that?" Sam spat out, anger building every moment of being in the cloaked ghost's presence.

"You can go back to your time and change the future by use of the present," he answered. "You have the ability to change the course he's on now for the betterment of the future. I, however, am bound to a key series of events that must happen—sort of like I am the Doctor and my power is the TARDIS. Didn't get that reference? Of course you didn't. Anyways, Sam, you can still help Danny, but you don't have to rewrite history to do it."

Sam scoffed and turned her back on him. "He doesn't want my help."

"Yes he does," Clockwork argued, putting his now elderly hand on her shoulder. "He just doesn't know how to ask or accept it."

"Then how do I?" she sighed, looking defeated back at the portal from which she had entered. How do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved.

Clockwork sighed then floated around in front of her so that she was looking at him eye-to-eye. "Samantha, I'm going to do something that is very rare for me to do. This is a gift. Don't expect it to happen again."

"What?" Sam asked, still feeling defeated and helpless as to help her friend.

"I'm going to give you a glimpse into the future. It's not that far away from the time you are currently in. Five days, to be precise."

Clockwork turned her around and ushered her to one of his screens. If blinked for a moment then came to life. Sam was nervous but sat on the edge of her seat—figuratively—as the preview of what was to happen began.

…

Sam fell to the ground and vomited, the reality of what she had just been being too much for her to handle.

"So you understand then?" Clockwork asked, making no attempt to aid or comfort her in her distress. "You understand what happens and what part you play? Do you understand what you now must do to help Danny?"

Sam nodded, wordless, then vomited again.

_No,_ she pleaded silently in her head. _Anything but that! I can't do this…._


End file.
